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From Bethany to Jerusalem: Palm Sunday 2023

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John 12:12-19; Jesus and disciples returned to the nearby village of Bethany to be honored and anointed by the family of Lazarus. Christ’s raising of His friend from the grave had become a well-known phenomenon in Israel, which did not go unnoticed by the Sanhedrin. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey colt to […]

Mining Gold from the Sermon on the Mount 3

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Matthew 6:19-24; The next section from the Sermon engages earthly wealth and blessing, also beginning with a warning by Jesus. He cautions, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth”. The fleeting nature of earthly hording is revealed by the reality that possessions decay and wear out, as well well as being at risk […]

Mining Gold from the Sermon on the Mount 2

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Matthew 6:9-13; After Jeeus cautions His close followers to avoid two pitfalls in prayer in this passage, He continues with an example of a concise model prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is prefaced by Christ, “This, then, is how you should pray….”, which provides a proper example of first acknowledging the Greatness of Father-God. Followed by […]

Mining Gold from the Sermon on the Mount 1

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Matthew 6:5-8; Springboarding from the recent study of the Beatitudes, our pre-Easter pursuit of Christ’s ministry focus continues in Matthew’s gospel. The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus’ most powerful and challenging messages, so we follow the Spirit’s leading into the veins of gold contained in those deep insights about Christian conduct and […]

Walking with Jesus through Difficulty and Loss 9

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Matthew 5:1-12; The final Beatitude is an expansion of Beatitude 8 on the topic of persecution. Jesus warns His disciples, and those in attendance at the Sermon on the Mount, to anticipate both verbal and physical hostilities “because of me”. Just as the OT prophets were mistreated for proclaiming the word of God, so would […]

Walking with Jesus through Difficulty and Loss 8

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Matthew 5:1-10; The third horizontal Beatitude addresses the difficult topic of mistreatment of Christians for simply practicing their faith. Jesus conditions His teaching about persecution with, “because of righteousness”, so believers understand the nature of the world’s reaction to the gospel message. The promise in Beatitude 8 repeats the emphasis upon our eteral reward that […]

Sermon Walking with Jesus through Difficulty and Loss 7

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Matthew 5:1-9; In Beatitude seven, Jesus emphasizes the necessity of believers being peacemakers. Christians are not to simply be peaceful or peaceable, but to expand beyond those inner workings of the “Prince of peace” to become active reconcilers of human conflict. The promised blessing for those who pursue peace entails, “they will be called children […]

Sermon Walking with Jesus through Difficulty and Loss 6

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Matthew 5:1-8; The second horizontal Beatitude is a challenge from Jesus to His followers to be “pure in heart”. David engaged purity several times in the Psalms, comparing it to the high value of pure gold before the Lord. The subsequent promise for those who seek to purify their lives from the inside was, “for […]

Sermon Walking with Jesus through Difficulty and Loss 5

Matthew 5:1-7; As noted while unpacking the first four Beatitudes, they are vertical in nature by defining a right and acceptable relationship with Goe. Beatitude five begins the horizontal instruction from Jesus, defining how believers are to relate to one another ….as well as the world. The focus of this message is the powerful theme […]